When you look at a normal frog, one that's only a few inches long, it's easy to forget that the docile green amphibian resting lazily at the edge of the stream is an ambush predator who is secretly a cross between a ninja with a grappling hook and a black hole. When the rare example grows to the size of a horse, however, they remind unwary adventurers that anything can be dangerous.
This is definitely a late 70s-early 80's sculpt, but it has no base (it rests on its legs and feet) and has no markings to indicate the manufacturer - any ideas? I've scoured Lost Minis and Google and I can't find any reference to it anywhere. As with all early sculpts, the trick is to keep it simple - a base green paint job, with a dark red for the tongue, and then washes and dry brushing to bring out a surprising amount of detail, following by flock and stone for the base. I like everything about this sculpt - it's very dynamic, with the lashing tongue and the raised claw giving it a real air of menace - and just look at the size of it next to a worried looking Shadowforge Dark Temple warrior! To be honest I've always though of this entry in the Monster Manual as a bit of a joke, but this sculpt has changed my mind considerably, and I can see it getting a lot of table top time in the next set of marsh/swamp encounters. Now, if someone can just identify who made it, I'll be a happy man...
Citadel did some excellent sculpts before they morphed into Games Workshop, including some tie-ins with gaming systems such as Runequest (RQ). Now, I have to be honest and state that RQ was one of those systems that totally passed me by - D&D was and remains my RPG of choice - but I know a lot of people who rave about RQ, and it was mightily popular in the day, so much so that CItadel did several box sets of characters and creatures based on the game. This one of them. It's a lovely little sculpt I
think - in proportion, and somehow managing to convey the monstrousness of the thing - I mean, who dreamt up the idea of a lion's body, with bat wings, and a scorpion tail, and a flesh eating human face? The figure it was a pleasure to paint - as with most early sculpts, it was a matter of keeping it simple, which is why I didn't make the wings a different colour than the body - and dry brushing really brought out the detail, especially around the mane and tail. It really looks the part next to the Shadowforge Dark temple archer, and I can see this getting a lot of table top time.
When you look at a normal frog, one that's only a few inches long, it's easy to forget that the docile green amphibian resting lazily at the edge of the stream is an ambush predator who is secretly a cross between a ninja with a grappling hook and a black hole. When the rare example grows to the size of a horse, however, they remind unwary adventurers that anything can be dangerous. 
This is definitely a late 70s-early 80's sculpt, but it has no base (it rests on its legs and feet) and has no markings to indicate the manufacturer - any ideas? I've scoured Lost Minis and Google and I can't find any reference to it anywhere. As with all early sculpts, the trick is to keep it simple - a base green paint job, with a dark red for the tongue, and then washes and dry brushing to bring out a surprising amount of detail, following by flock and stone for the base. I like everything about this sculpt - it's very dynamic, with the lashing tongue and the raised claw giving it a real air of menace - and just look at the size of it next to a worried looking Shadowforge Dark Temple warrior! To be honest I've always though of this entry in the Monster Manual as a bit of a joke, but this sculpt has changed my mind considerably, and I can see it getting a lot of table top time in the next set of marsh/swamp encounters. Now, if someone can just identify who made it, I'll be a happy man...
